The China Mail - Messi sets World Cup scoring record as weather halts France clash

Messi, who had tied Miroslav Klose's record of 16 goals with a brilliant hat-trick against Algeria last week, bagged the 17th and 18th goals of his World Cup career in a 2-0 win over Austria in Texas.

The eight-time Ballon D'Or winner, who turns 39 on Wednesday, had blown a chance to break the record after eight minutes when he dragged a penalty wide of the post in the Group J match.

But the Argentina skipper made no mistake seven minutes before half-time, coolly placing his finish beyond the dive of Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

He then completed his double in the fifth minute of stoppage time to take his tally for the tournament to five goals.

Monday's victory guarantees holders Argentina a place in the knockout rounds of the tournament, and the South Americans could clinch top spot later Monday if Jordan fail to beat Algeria.

"I'm very happy with the victory," Messi said afterwards. "It was hugely important, tough, hard-fought, and it gives us peace of mind for what's ahead. The match was evenly balanced, intense, and we're happy to have earned six points."

Messi admitted though that he had privately seething after missing his penalty early in the game.

"Today there was a moment where I was very angry about the penalty because I missed and I struck it very badly," said Messi.

"Luckily we were able to turn the situation around, take the lead and take three very important points."

- Weather chaos -

But while Messi and Argentina are now contemplating the knockout rounds with one game to spare, France's hopes of sealing their own passage to the last 32 were put on pause as a brutal storm halted Les Bleus' Group I clash with Iraq in Philadelphia.

Kylian Mbappe, making his 100th appearance for France, had fired France into a 1-0 lead with a vicious long-range effort after 14 minutes that ripped past Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil.

But as the half progressed, a severe thunderstorm that had prompted tournament organisers to delay opening the stadium doors to fans before kick-off rolled into the region, dumping heavy rain on the venue.

As the half-time whistle blew, fans int he 68,324-capacity Lincoln Financial Field were told to take shelter, and packed into the stadium concourses.

The severe weather warning prevented the match resuming after half-time, leaving the two teams to huddle in their respective locker rooms before a planned resumption of play was announced for 8:00 pm local time (0000 GMT) -- a delay of around two hours.

The possibility of severe weather causing disruption to the tournament had been signalled at last year's Club World Cup in the United States, when multiple games were interrupted for several hours.

Public safety regulations used widely in the United States mandate that play is halted whenever lightning is recorded within 10 miles (16.1 kilometres) of a stadium.

In Monday's other Group I game, Norway can also qualify for the last 32 with a victory over Senegal at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

X.Gu--ThChM